Lavrov: No proof given for Western allegations about Russian troops in Ukraine

Army servicemen of the 31st Individual Assault Brigade at the joint exercises of the CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Force at the Spassk proving ground in Kazakhstan's Karaganda Region on August 18, 2014. (RIA Novosti / Sergey Kuznecov) / RIA Novosti

Russia’s only reaction to NATO accusations of interfering militarily in Ukraine will be a consistent position of putting an end to bloodshed and establish dialogue between warring parties in Ukraine, Russia’s FM said.

No facts about Russian military being present on the territory of
Ukraine have ever been presented, Sergey Lavrov pointed out,
while speculation on the issue has been voiced repeatedly, he
stressed.

“It’s not the first time we’ve heard wild guesses, though
facts have never been presented so far,” Lavrov said at a
press conference in Moscow.

“There have been reports about satellite imagery exposing
Russian troop movements. They turned out to be images from
videogames. The latest accusations happen to be much the same
quality,” he said.

“We’ll react by remaining persistent in our policies to stay
bloodshed and give a start to the nationwide dialogue and
negotiations about the future of Ukraine, with participation of
all Ukrainian regions and political forces, something that was
agreed upon in Geneva back in April and in Berlin [in August],
yet what is being so deliberately evaded by our Western partners
now,” Lavrov said.

Sergey Lavrov pointed out that the only means to decrease the
number of casualties among the civilian population in Donetsk and
Lugansk Regions is by self-defense militia pushing Ukrainian
troops and National Guards out.

“From a military point of view self-defense militia are doing
a very simple thing – they are driving Ukrainian troops and
National Guards from their positions used to shell peaceful
cities, destroying kindergartens, schools, hospitals, Orthodox
churches and infrastructure, and killing a large number of
civilians,” Lavrov said.

“Definitely, to stop all this given the conditions of Kiev
and its sponsors unwilling to fulfill unconditional ceasefire
obligations, the only way to save lives of civilians and diminish
the number of casualties is to force the Kiev forces out of their
positions used for bombardment,” he said.

Russia prepares second humanitarian convoy to Ukraine combat zone

The Russian foreign minister says that in-principle consent on
dispatching another batch of humanitarian aid for the devastated
provinces of southeastern Ukraine has been reached with Kiev.

“The day before yesterday we received a note in answer from
the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine, in which they gave in-principle
consent to the proposal to send Russian humanitarian aid to the
southeast and shared their considerations regarding logistics of
the second convoy,” Sergey Lavrov said.

“Yesterday we sent a second note to Ukraine’s Foreign
Ministry, which took into account observations of the Ukrainian
side,” the minister said, stressing that an answer to Kiev
has been already sent.

A contact group will coordinate security guarantees of the second
humanitarian convoy within days, Lavrov announced.

“We intend to reach an accord on the procedures with the
Ukrainian side with participation of the International Red Cross,
as well as negotiate security guarantees: of the Russian side in
delivering the aid to the border, the Ukrainian side of
transporting the aid through the territory controlled by the Kiev
authorities and the self-defense forces ensuring secure passage
of the convoy through the territory controlled by them,”
said Lavrov at a press conference.